A number of years ago, I was asked what I thought of a dress code for work. My response: if you bring your brain, you can wear your pajamas.

At OneEnergy Partners, we put that (and other concepts) to the test. Our office was virtual (we worked in 4 different cities and the “office” was an all day video chat room/screen share); we replaced all meetings with a CRM tool that auto emailed summaries of every external interaction the moment it happened; and at least one of us (me!) did wear pajamas. A lot.

But that was a unique situation. What made it work were not the circumstances but the people. If you have the right people, you don’t need rigid rules or codes or performance meetings. You need to give them space, let them run and simply ask “how can I help?”

It’s the reason the “who” matters so much more than the “where” (or wear). If you have the right people, success takes care of itself. And, more importantly, it will be a lot more fun.